A woman from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne is making history at McGill University, becoming the first graduate of its Indigenous language revitalization PhD program.
Mary Onwá Tekahawáhkwen Macdonald, 73, completed the program in three years, two years ahead of its usual five-year timeline.
Macdonald has spent decades teaching Kanyen’kéha, the traditional name for the Mohawk language — her First Nations language.
Her academic achievement is also helping inspire a new generation of students working to preserve Indigenous languages at risk of disappearing.
Macdonald retired at age 70 after 45 years of teaching Indigenous languages in Akwesasne to pursue her doctorate at McGill.
At first, she worried about returning to school alongside younger students. “How does a 70-year-old woman compete with 20-year-olds?” she told Global News.
“[I was] thinking to myself, oh God, can I actually do this?”
But the fear soon disappeared, and Macdonald became a mentor to other students pursuing their master’s degrees.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
The program, created in 2023, is designed for students who already speak an Indigenous language and live in communities in the Americas where their languages are threatened.
Jessica Coon, a linguistics professor at McGill, said the program aims to equip students with the skills to advance language preservation.
“To provide them with the tools and concepts that they need to further advance language documentation, revitalization, reclamation work in their home communities,” Coon said.
Macdonald hopes to continue that work as an elder in residence at McGill, mentoring other students.
Among them is Jasmine Jimerson, an Oneida PhD student from Wisconsin who is following in the footsteps of her great-grandmother, Maria Hinton, who produced an Oneida dictionary.
Jimerson said Hinton was the last speaker in their community, and she is proud of the work her great-grandmother did.
“So it’s my goal to continue that work and make sure that we’re still using her work,” Jimerson told Global.
With Macdonald now among those helping guide students, the effort to preserve Indigenous languages is being carried forward by a new generation.
